Deal4Fuji

I got back into cycling in early 2014 and by Christmas both daughters had a cycling interest too and liked the idea of vintage steel bikes. We saw a nice looking green '76 Fuji S10-S that from the cell phone photo looked pretty good, and the seller had checked excellent for condition. We were traveling for the holiday and couldn't get to Cary (NC) until after Christmas, so I committed to getting it if he would hold it until the week after Christmas. We picked it up in the dark and in a hurry (you can guess where this is going) and it turned out to be a rust bucket. I didn't pay a lot ($125) but I was really mad at myself for not looking closer at the pick-up. I found better conditioned steel bikes for the girls and this bike got set aside with the intention of making it a single speed. A couple of years ago I took it down to the frame & sanded the rusted chrome socks that had been sprayed with aluminum paint, as well as the oxidized components. Pics:

^^^ the spelling should have been my 1st clue






The only part that was in excellent condition VVV

bikemig 

Love this thread; looking forward to reading the updates . . .

It will be shorter than Tolstoy's War and Peace, right?

Deal4Fuji

Work begins

I decided to paint everything black that was rusted or oxidized including the rims, but leave the original green paint as-is and go for a used messenger bike look.







The Nitto Olympiad handlebars had already been used on the Lotus Supreme I bought that had Wald hi-rise bars...used a red sharpie to hide the scratches from emery cloth



so I had these GB bars available from a Schwinn Continental parts bike

Deal4Fuji

sadly no

more sanding ....





old cc's of Bicycling misused




Paint room, primer then satin black

Deal4Fuji

I had one major fopaux VVV


^^^ so this is how it sat for a couple of years, my procrastination probably helped the paint to cure and harden

somewhere over that time, I managed to lose my single speed cog



It'll turn up, they always do -- but as it turns out the original perfect 888 freewheel works great and I can go between the 14 & 17 without messing with the chain

RustyJames 

Subscribing!

I have a $20 Univega that is getting a mechanical restoration so I can empathize. I’m debating about putting the 600 Arabesque bits back on or selling those and using something else from the stash. Either way, all will be getting passed along to a new owner.

Inusuit

Nice work! Seller had a lot of moxie to describe that as "excellent."

branko_76 

As bad as the rust was, i think the next owner of this bike will be even more frustrated having to remove all of the chipped paint from the aluminum components

kroozer 

When I was 15 I was looking to replace my Schwinn Continental with a better quality lugged bike, and a friend offered to sell me his green Fuji S-10-S, which was quite well-used but very pretty. He wanted $200 for it which seemed a bit high (this was 1975) but I was actually considering it because it seemed so much better than my Continental. When I went to buy it I noticed he had switched the alloy crank for a steel cottered model, and I decided he was trying to screw me over. I was kind of teed off with the little snake, but also thankful that his extra bit of greed with the crank had finally made me realize what a bad deal it was. About a month later I bought a new Motobecane Grand Jubile for $300.

Deal4Fuji

I'm not selling it, and I've ridden it every ride since I got it on the road Aug 14th and no black paint has chipped off...yet. Even the rim brake area I expected to lose paint right away is staying black. But if it does that will fit the vibe of the bike if it's smooth "wear" like the way I painted, then sanded the Nitto I-Beam stem pictured above. I think "wear" and a term I 1st heard here on BF, "beausage" are a cool look on their own.
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On The Road, Finally

Going into the weekend of August 14th I decided I was going to get this bike put together. I had a trip planned to nearby Jacksonville on Sunday to swap some parts and do a ride with bike buddy Law (3speedslow) and I wanted to take this bike. With the help of BF members in the mechanics section I got confirmation of the bearing sizes I'd need for BB, hubs & headtube and started working on it Bearing sizes needed for '75 Fuji S10-S - help !



With a quill stem extender I could make this bike fit me. The only 27 x 1¼ tires I had were yellow, but it kinda worked with the yellow in the Fuji rainbow. The yellow helped the black rims really stand out. As usual I was running late to be done by mid afternoon Sunday, and didn't have time to get the Schwinn handlebars & painted Nitto stem & brake levers on with new brake cables & bar wrap. Luckily I had a Fuji Royale parts bike I could take the stem, bars, brakes & cable off of and use here.

Law helped me fit the single speed chain on the preferred cog and even sent me home with some new 27" tires. He, along with the great folks of C&V have been a great help in my becoming less of a wrenching nerd. We've make plans to do the annual city to sea bike ride at the end of September and I'm looking forward to riding this bike !


^^^ Runs Like A Deere



as it sits today after many rides VVV

Deal4Fuji

Still not Done

So the slowest refirb in BF history is still not done, but the bike is on the road. I want to use the original painted black brake levers & Nitto stem with that cool Red N bolt that was my only excellent condition component That stem bolt and this multicolor cork tape will give it some much needed color


....and I've already started another single speed project that will probably end up using the bars on the Fuji now. I bought that $65 Shogun for sale in this area (got flagged on the looking for one of these thread) by machinist42 . Fixing those 1st generation Grip Shift levers is above my pay grade and I'm loving single speed riding. The ugly & rusty red & white frame is another good candidate for painting and I've already started on it. The Nitto bars were made for Grip Shift & have drilled holes for the shift cable and to hold the grip pin so maybe Law will want them for a "historic" renovation

stardognine

With that new bar tape, I think you should put those yellow tires back on. Then you'll have your color. 😁

Deal4Fuji

I do like the look of those yellow tires but I had a pinch flat finishing my 2nd ride. Luckily I wasn't too far away from our starting point. One tire's wire bead has severed and with just 90 lbs max recommended I'm worried about more pinch flats. The black-walled Bontragers are better tires with thicker rubber hitting the road surface. Once the newness wears off and it's just another bike in the rotation I might go back to the yellow.

tricky 

@Deal4Fuji Did you paint the brake tracks? You're not letting your daughter ride this, are you?

Deal4Fuji

No just me - they've been road tested and work fine. If I had a lot of hills I might have more concern, but I'm in flatland & so far I can't tell any difference from regular alloy side-walled rims. As mentioned above I expect some of the paint to rub off over time but it's staying on amazingly well.

John E

I don't understand the fascination with single speed at all, but at least you could easily put derailleurs back on it

RustyJames 

I don’t understand anything more than 3x7 but to each their own.

Deal4Fuji

I love the simplicity of it and I should have had single speeds before now. I'm a masher & I never use the small ring on any bike in our flattish area here. On most rides I may shift 4 or 5 times at best.

RustyJames 

I’m a very casual rider so just a few speeds are fine with me.

Tell Law I said hi!